
Botley Development Company (BDC) apply to the council for a change in
the conditions. BDC have agreed to do this, but have not done so.
Attempts to get movement on this from Mace, BDC and Savills (the
managers of the centre) have failed so far. The Liberal Democrats have
launched a petition, which can be found at
https://www.oxonld.uk/pedestrianise-church-way
Parking: There have been many reports of people being sent penalty
notices for parking ‘infringements’. While it’s fairly clear that you need to
pay if you stay more than two hours and Automatic Number Plate
Recognition is used, many are sent penalty notices if they use the car
parks twice in a day. It seems that if you are there from, say, 9am to 9:30
and then from 2:30 to 3pm you are often assumed to have stayed 6 hours.
Apparently upon being asked about this, “Smart Parking” (who operate
the car parks on behalf of BDC) said that their technology couldn’t cope
with this sort of parking behaviour, implying that only one entry and exit
record per vehicle can be stored.
West Way isn’t the only car park in the area to have such reports. Most
car parks along Botley Road are private ones, run on a similar basis,
many also with reports of ‘overzealousness’.
Electric vehicle charging points: As part of the planning application,
and in line with council policy, electric vehicle charging points were to be
provided in the car parks. There has been a long-drawn-out saga in trying
to get these functioning. The responsibility for them, as with most
charging points nationwide, is with an independent company, and Savills,
as managers of the centre struggled at first to get their chosen supplier
to get the charges functioning. There have been many complaints about
them – ridiculously low charging rates and apps that simply don’t work or
change without notification. In the absence of a joined-up policy for
charging stations, aspirations to increase electric car use will not be met.
Student accommodation: The student accommodation is now operated
by Prestige Student Living. In February, Savills submitted a planning
application (P23/V0420/MPO) to change the conditions of the student
accommodation. This condition is currently: For a period of at least 43
weeks per year, not to permit the Occupation of any units of Academic
Residential Accommodation by any persons other than full time students
attending universities in the City of Oxford, the Vale of White Horse or
South Oxfordshire, or employees including (but not limited to) interns and
research assistants working or studying at academic institutions in the
City of Oxford or the Vale of White Horse.